SC flags misuse of rape law; says break-up of consensual relationship can’t be treated as rape

Flagging misuse of rape law, the Supreme Court has said that a break-up of consensual relationship between two adults cannot be treated as a crime so as to invoke rape charges against the man.

“This court has, on numerous occasions, taken note of the disquieting tendency wherein failed or broken relationships are given the colour of criminality. The offence of rape, being of the gravest kind, must be invoked only in cases where there exists genuine sexual violence, coercion, or absence of free consent,” a Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan said, quashing a rape case filed against a lawyer.

The top court set aside a Bombay High Court order refusing to quash an FIR against the lawyer for allegedly raping a woman repeatedly under the false promise of marriage as it concluded that the relationship in question was voluntary and sustained over three years during which the woman never alleged lack of consent.

“Upon a careful consideration of the record in the present case, we are unable to discern any material that would warrant the invocation of Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC. The facts of the present case unmistakably indicate that it is a classic instance of a consensual relationship having subsequently turned acrimonious,” the Bench said.

“To convert every sour relationship into an offence of rape not only trivialises the seriousness of the offence but also inflicts upon the accused indelible stigma and grave injustice. Such instances transcend the realm of mere personal discord. The misuse of the criminal justice machinery in this regard is a matter of profound concern and calls for condemnation,” the Bench said.

“The offence of rape, being of the gravest kind, must be invoked only in cases where there exists genuine sexual violence, coercion, or absence of free consent,” it noted.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Nagarathna, however, said, “The law must remain sensitive to such genuine cases where trust has been breached and dignity violated, lest the protective scope of Section 376 of the IPC be reduced to a mere formality for those truly aggrieved.”